by Marion Garcia

Created on: December 20, 2009   Last Updated: December 22, 2009

Are doctors motivated by high pay or healing patients?

Doctors go to school for many years. The cost, time spent learning, and dedication to finish school gives a doctor a right to a high pay. Should the doctors be blamed for the high cost of medical care? There are many reasons why medical care is so expensive.

The classes that doctors are required to take in school are subjects that most students wouldn't want to go near. The labs that they endure just to learn how the human body works is gross and a normal person couldn't stomach. Why would a person want to go through all of this if they were not interested in healing patients?

The cost of schooling alone, is enough to turn a student away from becoming a doctor. By the time they are finished with medical school, they are in so much debt, it takes years to break even. Certainly, this should put them in a position for a high salary.

A doctor needs to be good at what he/she does. Malpractice suits have become rampant. People are very quick to bring a law suit against a doctor. The insurance companies play on this by charging them outrageous fees. Without malpractice insurance, a doctor leaves himself/herself open to lose everything that they might have accumulated.

Like people in other professions there are those who are concerned with high pay. Who wouldn't want a luxury position? After all they have studied and paid for their prestige.

The cost for doctors to run their practice is extremely high. They too, have the cost of space, equipment, technicians, and receptionist. A doctor needs a space that looks great. This is necessary, as patients will not come to a doctor's office if it looks shabby. People associate the prestige of the doctors office with the success and prominence of the doctor. This makes them look as though they are a better doctor. This draws in the patients. All these things cost money.

They too, have the regular normal expenses. A doctor also has a family to support. They must also have a house, cars, and the regular household expenses. They also have children that want to go to college.

Doctors are just as human as other people, thus they have the same necessities. Their costs are high, so necessarily their cost must be passed on to their patients. There are people of other professions that earn more money than most doctors. Professions such as those in sports, bankers on wall street, and actors/actress do not require $300,000 to finish school. These professions do not require eighty hour work weeks in order to finish their training. Should a doctor earn less than these people?

Physicians are like politicians, they all start out with the people in mind and good intentions. They all fall into the works of the system. What motivates a doctor - high pay or healing?

Healing is definitely the first and foremost motivation. High pay is a part of the prestige that comes along with the title.

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